In the Clutches of the Enemy
by ColourPalette
Summary: When three of Voltron's Paladins are taken prisoner by the Galra Empire, or more specifically the big baddie himself, Zarkon, it's up to the rest of the team to save them. However some might be more damaged than others. (Originally posted on Archive of our own)
1. Prologue

**This story was originally posted on Archive of our own by me, expect my username is ShapeShift. This story will also deal with sensitive topics such as RAPE in later chapters, which the author in no way shape or form supports. You have been warned.**

The chains cluttered in protest along the long narrow hallway as the three figures trapped within their confines took slow forced steps. They were making their way closer and closer to an arched opening coming further into view. Soldiers, both metal and flesh, 'encouraged' them to pick up their pace with several forceful tugs and prods. One soldier in particular, or perhaps Commander due to how he carried himself with such clear authority and smugness, wouldn't hesitate to provide them with a few extra painful warning shocks should one of them refuse to comply.

The first figure among the three hostages looked worried, some might say scared, and would take quick concerned glances behind him when given the opportunity. He was a rather large, bulky looking individual yet also seemed like the gentle type. Behind him was a tall lanky boy, who looked to be having an inner conflict with himself about which emotion he should decide to show, eventually settling on an irritated glare, which was mostly focused on a flesh soldier who seemed to enjoy poking him with his weapon. Grinding his teeth to try and hold back a remark he would surely regret later only seemed to make the aggravating and quite frankly immature solider enjoy his ongoing jabbing more. After enduring 5 more minutes of this torture, the boys patience finally cracked, and his previous concerns were throw out the window.

"I swear if you touch me with that thing one more time Twilight Sparkle I'll- arrgghh!" His snarky statement came to an a brute stop when numerous volts of electricity grinded through his body.

"Silence human! You are not to make a sound until you're in Emperor Zarkon's presence! Then you can plead for your life!" The yet to be confirmed Commander ordered, receiving a reply from the boy in the form of a glare to the back of his head.

"Lance." Hissed the third figure in a warning tone. He was clearly the smallest one, being a few inches shorter than the former two prisoners. The lanky boy, or Lance as he was called, reverted his glare behind him at the shorter boy for a quick second, before turning back forwards again.

'This is bad.' Lance thought as they finally walked through the arched opening leading to what seemed to be a control room. 'This is really, really bad.'


	2. Chapter 1: Captured

It had all gone to shit after the whole wormhole incident.

The Paladins of Voltron had been torn apart from each other, as well as the Castle of Lions, and sent spiraling out of control into the vast empty void of space. The black and green Paladins, Tadashi Shirogane and Katie (Pidge) Holt, managed to track each other down with relative ease, due to their locations and the Green Lion's improved tracker modifications. A week and a half later, they were reunited with the Castle of Lions.

To say Princess Allura was relieved was an understatement, as she embraced both Paladins in a tight hug upon their return. The rest of the Paladins however, had yet to be found. After days (Or at least what felt like days, it was always a little hard to tell when you were stuck it space.) they were finally able to communicate with the Blue and Yellow Lion's pilots, Lance and Hunk. They had been lucky enough to land on the same deserted planet, where they had finally finished repairing their respective Lions. However, the castle was still unable to pinpoint their location, as well as the Red Lions.

Seeing as the planet they had been stranded on for the last 2 weeks didn't have a breathable atmosphere, and therefore little to no food supplies, the Paladins decided to take matters into their own hands, and at least find a another planet where they could restock their recourses.

It was pure luck that they managed to pick up the Red Lion's signature after a full week of aimless flying around looking for anything useful, be it replenishments or even a familiar lump of rock that could give the Castle an idea of their current location. The planet on which the Lion resided on was warm, uncomfortably warm, but seemed to have an atmosphere that was breathable enough for life.

It didn't take them long to find their very moody red teammate, whose face seemed to light up with both exhaustion and relief upon spotting them. His Lion was largely damaged, but he'd been doing his best to fix her up. Keith may not have been an engineer like Hunk, but he knew the basics of fixing up a damaged ship. Having said that, Hunks aid in repairing Red was greatly appreciated.

It wasn't more than a few days later when they were ambushed.

By an entire freaking galra fleet.

 _A fleet._

And they had two Lions, the Red Lion still being too damaged to fly, let alone fight. How they'd found them was still a mystery, whether they had somehow tracked them to the planet or simply stumbled upon them.

In the heat of the moment however, it didn't really matter. There was no use in hiding, there nowhere to hide. Their only choice was to fight, as they were completely surrounded.

"Ok! So what's the plan exactly?" Hunk panickedly yelled over the coms.

Lance steared his lion into a nosedive, directing an attack under the belly of a nearby ship. "We're wringing it!" Using the the claws of his lion, Lance glided across the ship with relative ease, leaving a wake of explosions in his path.

"-adins! Can yo-... -ar me?" The coms started filling with static, making it difficult to make out the excited shouting coming from the other end.

"Allura?!" Keith manually adjusted the laser gun on his lion, silently thanking the stars above that it had somehow not been harmed previously. "Is that you?!" Even though his aim wasn't as good as Lances, not that he'd ever admit it, he managed to get a few good shots in, providing a bit of backup for the airborne paladins.

The static seemed to clear up a bit, enabling Princess Allura's voice to come through more clearly. "We've located your position!"

An "OH THANK GOD!" could be heard in the distance.

"However there's no telling how long it'll take us. The castle is currently unable to create wormholes, we're still trying to figure out what's wrong."

Hunk dove in a headbutted one of the many galra ships, effectively destroying its cannon that had previously been aiming to shoot down the Blue Lion. "No no no nonono- I don't think you understand Princess! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! We kind of need you guys now!"

"Hunk! What's going on?!"

"The Galra Shiro! There's a whole fleet! I'm not sure how much longer we can hold out!" Troops had made their way onto the small planet, keeping Keith busy as he fought to fight them all off.

"A fleet?!" Came the startled cry from Coran.

"You heard Mullet Man! A fleet! They're overwhe- AUGHH!"

"LANCE!"

The Blue Lion started to fall towards the planet, having gotten hit by one of the ships. In an attempt to save his friend from crashing, Hunk dived after him.

His Lion however, wouldn't move.

"Paladins! Are you alrig?-"

Everything went dark.

Lance had blacked out when he reached the ground. After that he wasn't sure what had happened (For obvious reasons). He didn't know where Keith or Hunk were, heck he didn't know where he was.

It was dark, but he seemed to be in cell. He shivered a bit in the cold, only just realising he'd been stripped of his armor, leaving him only the his black under suit. 'Probably afraid I was hiding some kind of weapon under my armor, like my currently missing bayard..' He groaned loudly, realising he couldn't contact anyone without his helmet.

After what felt like hours of just waiting in the dark, he heard footsteps nearing his cell. The heavy alien metal door opened with a low croak, letting light pour in which made Lance cringe and cover his eyes with his arm.

"Get up, you're coming with me."

'This is really, really bad.'

The control room was large, purple, and intimidating.

Each of the three paladins had been forced to kneel down, handcuffs digging forcefully into their wrists. In front of them, broad flat stairs lead up to a spiky looking thrown. Where, lo and behold, sat Emperor Zarkon himself.

The sly smirk was evident on his scaly face, staring down at them with a look of accomplishment. "Well well well, look who fell right into my clutches.."

A low growl could be heard coming from Keith as the overlord seemed to examine each of them, his eyes lingering on Keith.

"Now tell me.. Where are the rest of the Lions?"

They were gonna make it out of here fine, completely in one piece and not missing any limbs at all. (Although Shiro's robotic arm was pretty cool in the right light.)

At least that's what Lance kept telling himself.


	3. Chapter 2: Illusions

"Now tell me.. Where are the rest of the Lions?"

* * *

Lance's breath hitched at the sound of Lord Zarkon's voice, chills running down his spine. Of course he wanted to know about the lions, what else would he want? A nice chit chat about the weather? Space weather? ..Was there such a thing as space weather? Well he supposed meteor showers counted as a form of space rain.. and-

Oh. Right. Evil space overlord to whom they are currently at the mercy of.

He didn't need to look to either side of him to see Hunk or Keith's responses to the painfully difficult question. Both had kept deadly quiet, although Lance could hear the angry rugged breathing from Keith's direction.

What was the plan now? As of that moment, they had no choice but to wait for some form of rescue, as they were all physically and mentally exhausted from the last.. Month? How long had they been separated from the Castle of Lions as well as the other Paladins? Damn space and its confusing concepts of time!

"Nah." Lance almost jumped at the sound of Keith's voice, sarcasm clearly present. And god, he could practically hear the smirk on his lips. "That sort of question is not under my jurisdiction, but I'd be happy to give you some tips on basic hospitality." _'Dammit Keith, and you were lecturing me about keeping my mouth shut.'_

Hunk turned and gave Lance a 'What is he doing?!' look, clearly trying to mask his own growing fear of their current situation.

Keith however, kept his focus on Zarkon, whose own smirk had not wavered in the slightest, and, if anything, had only gotten bigger. "Ah the Red Paladin, a mere fledgling fighting in a war too deep for his understanding." The Emperor leaned back in his throne. "And perhaps also his significance within it."

Keith, in his confusion, let his glare falter slightly, and then spared a glance towards his fellow paladins, both of whom seemed just as puzzled.

"Haggar, perchance you would demonstrate what I mean?"

"Gladly master."

The two soldiers holding Keith down suddenly and abruptly pulled him up, ignoring the protests of the yellow and blue paladins. They dragged him to kneel besides Zarkon's throne, facing Hunk and Lance. Keith released an almost predatory growl towards the Emperor as he was ruffly held down in an effort to stop his struggling.

"This illusion you've been maintaining is wearing thin paladin." Zarkon proclaimed as Haggar moved behind Keith. "Let us free you of the burden of continuously preserving it."

"Hey! Leave Keith alone!" Lance shouted furiously wiggling in his restraints. "Yeah! L-Let him go !" Hunk agreed, as he too, continued to attempt breaking free. Their objections however, continued to go ignored.

Zarkon, for the first time, stood up from his firm position from his throne. Taking a few steps in Keith's direction, he turned to face him, then nodded towards Haggar. An evil sneer formed under the shadow of her cloak, which became the only visible part of her. She raised her arms, and a wave of purple energy was released.

And Keith screamed .

Hunk and Lance were helpless, and could do nothing but look ahead at the scene taking place in front of them. Keith was bended over in agony, still crouched on the floor with his eyes screwed tightly shut.

"KEITH!" Lance cried out once more. "STOP! You're hurting him!"

Then, it was over. Haggar's merciless magic stopped, and Keith collapsed in a messy heap of limbs, his black undersuit smoking. His shallow and heavy breathing echoed throughout the room, as he twitched every few seconds.

"Hum. Interesting. So you are a hybrid. Haggar's intuition was correct after all." Zarkon moved closer to the exhausted red paladin, then roughly grabbed his chin, lifting his face up for the view of the two other paladins.

Both Hunk and Lance froze, soft gasps emitting from their throats. They hadn't gotten a proper chance to look at Keith until now, to see how his appearance had visibly changed under the influence of Haggar's magic.

The first and most obvious change was his skin, or now short fur? It was a pale yet vibrant violet. Sticking out from on top of his head, there were a pair of large, spiked ears, with the same pale violet colour running into them, followed by a not so pale coloration of violet. The tips of the ears were coloured in the same colour as his hair, which looked slightly poofier. There were two red crescent moons under his eyes, which then had streaks running down his cheeks similar to Haggers, which made the whole thing a type of T shape. His eyes however, were still closed, making it impossible to see their new appearance.

"Keith?.."

Keith groaned slightly in his semi-conscious state.

Confusion and slight betrayal stung Lance's chest.

"Hum, not bad. Its rare to find a hybrid that actually functions somewhat decently, even if you're a runt." Zarkon swiftly let go of Keith's chin, causing him to slouch down once more. The Emperor then drew his attention back to the other paladins. "As entertaining as it would be to convince you all that he's been working for me the entire time because of his heritage, even I doubt the new paladins of Voltron are that idiotic."

Zarkon then turned and sat down once more on his throne. "Take them back to a cell, just throw them in the same one. I don't want to waste valuable space for mere bait."


End file.
